The Scholarship

THE REUNION-Chapter Twenty-Seven

The morning of the reunion show dawns cold and clear. K.C. smiles as she remembers her night with Eric but pushes those memories out of the way as she starts to mentally prepare for the day ahead. 

 She shuffles to her kitchen and pours herself a bowl of Cocoa Puffs. She pulls out her laptop to go over her notes for the show one more time. She's so anxious to get to the studio she almost forgets to feed Snuggles.

"Sorry, Snugglicious!" She says as she bends down to pet the old feline. "It's a big, big day for Mommy!" K.C. calls her Uber, grabs her bag, and heads out the door.

When she gets to the studio, she knows she only has a few more hours before her guests start arriving. She heads to the stage to do one final walk through. Eric is already there. He smiles when he sees her.

"Hey, you," he says as he walks up to her and kisses her cheek. "How are you feeling about tonight?" K.C. nods and looks around.

"I feel good," she says. "Really good. This is going to be a great show."

"I agree," Eric tells her as he takes both her hands in his. "I also wanted to tell you I feel very privileged to be a part of this. You're doing an amazing thing here, K.C. You're an exceptional woman."

"Well, thank you," she says shyly. "And thank you for begin a part of this. I couldn't have done it without you."

"Knock 'em dead!" Eric tells her. "I'll see you on the other side of the camera." K.C. smiles and heads off to find Mary while Eric stays in the studio to make last minute adjustments to the cameras.

When three o'clock hits, the finalists arrive. Each one is allowed to bring a guest with them. K.C. stands ready to greet them and show them to the hair and make-up room. A studio page stands next to her. The pre-arranged van pulls up, and K.C. waits until everyone steps out before speaking. 

James and his mother exit the van first; followed by Alex and their older sister; then Lupita and her sister, Yolanda; Naomi and her brother, David; and finally, Harrison and his father.

"Welcome to New York, everyone!" K.C. says with a big smile on her face. "This is Matthew, one of the pages here at the studio. He's going to give your guests a tour and some free studio merchandise before showing them to their seats for tonight." 

 Matthew gives a wave and a nod while K.C. continues speaking. "So I'm going to need all the finalists to come with me, and you'll be able to meet up with your family members after the show." The group walks inside and says their good-byes before they split up—half with Matthew and the other half with K.C.

The group of finalists follows K.C. through a door and into an elevator. It's rather quiet, so K.C. tries to make conversation.

"So, Lupita, you traveled the farthest to be here. How do you like New York so far?" K.C. asks as the elevator moves up toward the 44th floor.

"It is very beautiful," Lupita says. "And very cold! I love all the tall buildings here though. It's almost like a maze. You must get lost here all the time!" K.C. laughs.

"Actually, it's pretty difficult to get lost in Manhattan. All our streets are numbered," K.C. tells her. "Plus we have great public transportation," she adds. "And Uber! Hardly anyone owns a car here. It's just too expensive."

"But there are cars everywhere!" Naomi chimes in. "I've never seen so many cars!"

"Yeah, I thought traffic in Chicago was bad!" Harrison says. "It's even crazier here!"